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Local Winnipeg mother/daughter pairs will play part in FemFest 2019: All the World’s a Stage! Like Mother, Like Daughter is coming to FemFest this year as one of our touring shows, with Why Not Theatre and Complicité Creative Learning. However all the mother and daughter participants are local. Like Mother, Like Daughter takes real life mothers and daughters and through workshops, coffee dates and baking, build a production while still maintaining the improvised and authentic conversation on stage. This year, we have gathered indigenous and immigrant Winnipeg mother/daughter pairs for the production!

Not only will you have the opportunity to sit in on a genuine and real conversation between the mother and daughter pairs, but each performance will be followed by a sit down dinner where audience members will have the chance to dine with the participants and continue conversation. A big shout out to Diversity Food Services for the yummy food that will be provided.

Now a brief introduction to the Mothers and Daughters…

Shirine Ali & Sabrina Bahadoosingh

Sabrina grew up in Winnipeg. She worked with (ISSA) Islamic Social Services Association as Operations Manager and managed several programs for newcomers and refugees. Shirine migrated to Winnipeg, Canada from Trinidad in the Caribbean in the mid- seventies. Shirine became a Family Therapist and has worked in the field for over twenty-five years.

Rubina Atif & Saleha Komal

Rubina Atif is from Pakistan and has been living in Canada for the last seven years with her 3 children while her husband was serving in the Pakistani Air Force. Saleha and Rubina love nature, Winnipeg’s prairie skies and the sunsets that come with it.

Dina Maranan & Mary Nadine Maranan

the weekday you can find Dina working away at Pollard Banknote and Nadine on the 4th floor of the science library at the University of Manitoba. After a long day, the two are brought together by a big bag of dill pickle popcorn ready to catch up on the latest episode of Jane the Virgin.

Mary Alice Smith & Danielle Morrison

‘Niiobinessiik’ Danielle Morrison and ‘Waasegiizhigok’ Mary Alice Smith have been mother and daughter for 33 years, mostly spent in Treaty 3 territory. Danielle is Mary Alice’s youngest, and almost like an only child even though she has 8 siblings.

Hazel Perrie & Victoria Perrie

Hazel and Victoria Perrie are Manitoba grown Metis/Swampy Cree/Icelandic/English women. They have primarily resided on Treaty 1 Territory and are from the Wolf Clan. They come from a long line of very strong matriarchs, with lineage back to the arrival of the colonizers.

Sybil Ramprashad & Shereen Ramprashad

I am a Colonial child born in 1943 in British Guyana. I came to Canada in 1965 to London Ontario, two London’s were never so different. My career has been mostly in the Fashion Industry working for some Canada’s Leading Clothing Companies. Miss Shereen, a dyslexic, self-taught Canadian writer based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her writings are a lively blend of performance, wit, intelligent metaphor with under currents of subtext and observation.

April Seenie & Sienna Seenie

April Seenie is Anishnaabe (Ojibway), a mother, nursing student, and actor from Roseau River Anishnaabe Nation, raised in Winnipeg. Currently, she works for the St. Amant Centre and the First Nation Health & Social Secretariat of Manitoba, while he continues within the nursing program at Red River College. Sienna Henderson-Seenie is an Anishnaabe/Cree student, actor and dancer. She will be entering grade 11 and aspires to become a veterinarian.

Aisha Tahir, Tianna Natalya Wells, and Zaina Wells

We’re a trio with a Fommy and a pair of Irish twins. We are dramatic, multilingual and full of spicy Pakistani and Trinidadian flavours. Our family is definitely a unique one with our stories of adventures on the trains, subways and planes. We embrace all weird qualities and appropriate them for our unique individual selves.

Lucy Kaikai & Marvel Yeboah-Appiah

L: I came to Canada 15 years ago, a few months pregnant with my daughter. I was excited to be reunited with family in Canada, after living on a refugee camp, in Ghana, for almost seven years. M: I’m very thankful for my mother because she has done the best for me all my life. Who knew I would play over five instruments, work as a missionary or learn another language.

September 19th 6:30pm
September 20th 2:00pm
September 20th 6:30pm
September 21st 2:00pm
September 21st 6:30pm

The mothers and daughters have already met over a potluck meal and to bake bannock together. Rehearsals are continuing and we can not wait for you to see some authentic theatre with our own local participants!

The count down to FemFest is on and we want to share some tips and tricks on how to prepare for the festival! In this blog, we will cover everything that is FemFest2019, from performances and tickets to venue and parking. We want to make sure that FemFest 2019 is a fun, informative, moving and safe experience for all performers and attendees.

DON’T BE DISAPPOINTED!
First thing’s first, productions. Have you taken a visit to our website yet and scheduled which performances you plan on attending? We understand that you’re busy, this is why we offer a variety of matinee and evening performances both on weekdays and weekends throughout the FemFest week. It’s important to take a look at the SCHEDULE in advance, so you can plan accordingly and make sure you can attend the performances that interest you most! Purchase or reserve your tickets in advance to ensure the time you have selected will not sell out. A spotlight production on booking in advance is 4inXchange. An interactive performance that allows only 4 audience members per performance, so booking in advance is crucial! You can find more information on 4inXchange, HERE.

GETTING THERE
Another topic we want to discuss is transportation. Luckily, there are plenty of bus routes surrounding the University of Winnipeg’s Asper Centre for Theatre and Film. If you’re a driver, parking Downtown can be stressful. Street parking is offered for $2.50 an hour, or free after 5:30PM on weekdays, on Saturdays you are given two complimentary hours and Sundays are completely free! If you would prefer to park your car in a lot, the University has plenty of parking lots surrounding and within walking distance. You can find a map to these parking lots on our website, HERE.

ACCESSIBILITY
Did you know that FemFest also offers ASL Interpretation for most of our shows? Baby Box, The Launchpad, Raising Stanley/Life with Tulia and Like Mother, Like Daughter each offer one ASL Interpreted performance per show! The dates of these shows are as follows:

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT
Join the cast of Baby Box following their performance on September 20th for a live discussion on the themes of the play. Share your own thoughts, opinions and interpretations. As well, a special panel talk-back will be offered following the Raising Stanley/Life with Tulia performance on September 15th, with community members working in the community to make the world a little more accessible for all.

INCLUSIVE
Our main venue, The Asper Centre for Theatre and Film, is accessible with gender-neutral restrooms. We want to make sure that anyone and everyone can enjoy the festival in a safe and welcoming environment!

Click HERE for an informative video covering all things FemFest and Downtown Winnipeg!

For updates on Sarasvàti and FemFest, be sure to check out our website HERE and follow our social media accounts on TWITTER, FACEBOOK and on Instagram at @sarasvati_wpg. See you in 9 days!